a mountain bike with a cargo box on the back and aero bars on the front. an old well-worn dahon folding bike

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Yesa battery, lithium iron phosphate-- http://www.yesa.com.hk/
-low-cost seller of lithium iron phosphate batteries. good customer service, long lasting batteries, but you will have solder on your own battery-connector and make your own protective package to keep the battery electronics safe. the batteries are much lighter/smaller than equivalent-range lead acid or ni-cad batteries. Prices are higher than the lowest-price e-bay lithium iron phosphate batteries, but not by a whole lot. I have one of these batteries and I highly recommend them.

DeWalt 36V battery on e-bayhttp://search.ebay.com/dewalt-36v-ba...dsreturnedZ300
DeWalt's 36V batteries are said to be excellent for e-bikes but only if you are willing to put a lot of do-it-yourself effort in to repackage them for a reasonable riding range, etc. These 36V (actually closer to 33V) packs are a high quality lithium iron phosphate type.

Some awesome folks who are working to give Haitians the ability to manage their safety and their lives: Haiti Partners

it's a really old Trek, my favorite and older trek was stolen last year :( soon my current bike will be ELECTRIC!!! So excited

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LiFePo4

I've heard LiFePo4 Batteries are good??? There are a few sellers on Ebay and they range from 150 to $300. Should these be trusted? Do they have warranties? They're coming from people in China mostly and they're covered in Duct Tape it looks like lol Go to ebay and type in Lifepo4 and you'll see what I mean. Are there any "respected" websites that sell similar lifepo4 batteries with warranties and the like?

B&B battery

I ended up choosing B&B's HR22 AGM batteries, they seem to be top of the line when it comes to SLA AGM batteries and they use high quality virgin lead. www.zbattery.com has the best prices on B&B batteries that I could find anywhere. Also, don't be tricked by the batteries on batteryspace.com, they look like B&B's on the site, but they are actually much lower quality Tysonic copies. They are only about $10 cheaper for a much lower quality battery.

Personally, I have the BP series because thats what came in my kit plus I didn't know at the time. With 2600 miles on them in 2 years, I believe that the end is near as range is noticable down now. I like how the EVP series was tested at 1C. I'm leaning towards those right now but would like to know more about the HR series. I know they have more performance but no info on cycles. The EP series is slightly lower in performance then the BP series and tested at only .25C.

The shelf life of LIFEPO4 batteries is supposed to be in the 2,000 cycle range, (which is a very long time) for quality manufacturers. China is the maker of most of these, because the labour involved and toxicity. Some use quality ingredients from "Phostec" in Canada who hold a patent on some of these powders.

www.ebike.ca is a supplier of 24, 36, and 48 volt 12 AH batteries, and test them etc.

LIFEPO4 is still in the infancy stages but for safety and dollar for watt/ hour of use, it is the chemistry of choice, I bought a 48 volt 12ah for my bike and will keep you guys posted of the results as i also have a Cycle Analyst to record everything that's going on.

Most people that report problems are the BMS (battery managament System) attached to these batteries to keep them balanced and from over discharge which can damage them permanently. But a good supplyer will replace these at no cost, and they are getting better by the day.

SLA will probably be the battery chemistry of choice for storage applications for years yet. In fact, I expect further advances in SLA technology to increase capacity and decrease weight for any given size. For example, last year limited production began in a couple of companies using Power Technology's * Reticulated Vitreous Carbon based electrodes. Unfortunately, these companies aren't mass producing this technology yet.

The shelf life of LIFEPO4 batteries is supposed to be in the 2,000 cycle range...

Don't wish to nit-pick you bro but shelf life is much different than charge cycles. I've heard lithium shelf life may only be a matter of couple years even if they're never charged/discharged. Sorta like Capacitors in that regard. Dunno 1st hand - just reading here & there like everybody - but something that probably deserves more investigation IMO.

If you only need a small AH capacity (short commute - testing components) are on a budget - lead is still pretty hard to beat IMO.

A charger based on some of Bedini's investigations into radiant energy (Tesla). I know. This field makes many people cringe, but if it works, it works. Although I haven't tested these chargers, I plan on it. If these chargers even approach the claims for them, they'll pay for themselves very quickly. A Renaissance charger combined with Power Technology's new RVC electrodes brightens SLA's future even more.

Dewalt 24volt batterys

does anyone have any experience with the dewalt 24 volt power tool batteries - I have a 48 volt crystal lite system and was thinking of supplementing my SLA batterys with 2 Dewalts to extend my distance. Thanks for any advice!

A charger based on some of Bedini's investigations into radiant energy (Tesla). I know. This field makes many people cringe, but if it works, it works. Although I haven't tested these chargers, I plan on it. If these chargers even approach the claims for them, they'll pay for themselves very quickly. A Renaissance charger combined with Power Technology's new RVC electrodes brightens SLA's future even more.

I ordered this charger recently. After it arrives and I've informally tested it a bit, I'll state my impressions. Hopefully, it'll pay for itself rapidly. If some of the remaining problems with SLA technology can be mitigated soon (2009-2010) at minimal cost, I don't foresee moving to a different chemistry in the near future.

I received the Renaissance charger (RC-2A12-2), but I haven't used it yet. BTW, this charger is not designed specifically for charging SLA batteries. However, the charger can be used on an infrequent basis to charge SLA batteries which was my intention in the first place. In other words, use your "smart" charger for day to day charging of your SLA batteries and use the Renaissance charger only as absolutely necessary to maintain a working voltage, e.g. 12.66 volts, on a 12v battery. Furthermore, the Renaissance charger is not designed to charge batteries less than 20AH which can be overcome by charging two 12v SLA 10AH batteries in parallel on an infrequent basis. The latter setup should be nearly perfect * for use with a 24v Currie system. More later...

* Adding additonal 12v loads (e.g. starter batteries) in parallel with SLA batteries is wise with this charger to keep heating of SLAs minimal, but not essential since this charger won't be used for routine charging of SLA batteries.

I don't see any mention of the FireFly Oasis battery technology.
Supposedly they have been able to significasntly reduce the amount of lead need to build flooded lead acid batteries by laying the lead on to a foam "backer" of sorts. The promotional photos show equivalent AH cells with the FireFly being about 1/3 the size of the wet cell. They are now supplying batteries to various Electrolux products.
As I understand it this company was spun off from Caterpillar when they were searching for more durable batteries for their industrial machines.

"This battery technology was first patented by Alvin Snaper of Tang and IBM Selectric fame. This technology was licensed to Power Technology, PWTC. Members of of the scientific team took certain aspects of the technology with them to FireFly which had the capital to further refine existing patent rights.

"Mr. Alvin Snaper has served as a Senior Consultant to other major corporations and organizations, including IBM, General Foods, NASA, Boeing, Gillette, Singer, U.S. Air Force, Rocketdyne, General Motors, Lockheed Aircraft, Sanyo, Philips, Gulf Western, Union Carbide, etc. He has been awarded more than 600 patents, many for significant industrial products and processes. Some of his inventions and commercial products include the IBM Selectric Type Ball, Tang, the NASA Apollo Photo- Pack, Coating Process for Gillette Razor Blades, and the Electrostatic Painting Process & System for Auto Components Assemblies for General Motors, to name a few. Mr. Alvin Snaper holds the single honor and individual distinction of being recognized three times with 'Best Patent of the Year' award by Design News magazine, and is the author of numerous technical and scientific papers.

Alvin Snaper is or has been a member the following professional societies and organizations: Who's Who of American Inventors 1990-1991; VIP Electronic Improvement Program; American Ordnance Association. He is a former consultant in ultrasonics to the Library of Congress, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, International Scientific Society and The Society of Photographic Instrumental Engineers."

Lead is the worst choice by far, it suffers from the "peuKert effect" (sp) which sucks power from the motor when you need it the most, like accelerating from a stop light. And only has about 300 cycles.

Pay more at the beginning and have better power density, half the weight with NIMH, li-mg or LIFEPO4

There is a group buy on www.endlesssphere.com for top quality LIFEBATT's going on right now, but will be over end of the month.

Renaissance Charger Test

*** For this test, I'm NOT using a SLA battery for a bicycle hooked in parallel, but it'd be easy to do. I don't have a need to use SLA batteries with this charger ... yet. The test includes two 12v FLA automotive batteries. However, this test will either prove or disprove the capabilities of the R. charger in my mind as long as the individual cells are OK.

Originally, I thought the Renaissance charger was bad, because I had it hooked up to one of the 12v batteries and the LED light remained off. After a brief pause, I decided to check another 12v battery and this time the LED light glowed red so I knew the charger was OK. I then checked the voltage on the battery which failed to light the LED and it was , ahem, 3v *. The Renaissance charger will not even function unless the operating voltage is at least 9v. So, I got out the jumper cables and hooked the two 12v batteries in parallel. The Renaissance charger is now charging both of the batteries. Will this charger bring the bad 3v battery to a workable level? We'll see. If it does, I just likely saved $60. The charger itself costs $200+. In a day or so, I'll post the voltage levels on the bad battery. IIRC, I charged the bad battery about 12 months ago with a different 12v charger so I'm concerned that some cells are beyond repair. We'll see.

6/27/08-6/29/08: Charger test needs some changes. My "good" battery isn't so good so I'll have to concentrate on it first. The voltage was barely 9v so at least it's charging with the R. charger. When it's finally charged, then I'll switch back to a parallel setup.

*** BTW, the R. charger is temperamental to setup. I'm still investigating the proper method of connecting the charger. The manual is brief and covers the highlights, but ... When the manual states the one must disconnect the AC power and then the charger from the batteries and then reconnect them in the reverse order within 60 seconds, it means it, but even that process doesn't always work. However, at the moment the R. charger is charging one 12v FLA battery... Well, after 24 hours on the charger, I decided to pull the plug and let the power supply for the charger cool. The LED never changed from solid red (charging) to solid green (finished). I'll return to finishing the charge on this battery later. As of now, this better battery is 13v after resting a couple of hours which is very good. I want to work on the 3v battery in a parallel setup for awhile. Although the LED of the R. charger lights a solid red (charging) in parallel with the better battery, the 3v battery emits significant gas and heat so I'm limiting the charge time to about 10 minutes initially to allow the battery to cool between charge cycles. I hope to work beyond the limited time progressively. The R. charger has a thermal sensor to protect it from excessive heat. Although, I'd personally like a higher cutoff temperature, adding additional thermal protection (heat sinks) would add significantly to its cost. If the temperature of the posts on the battery rises above a specific level, the charger shuts off automatically which is why I'm having difficulty charging the 3v battery. The 3v battery appears hopeless, but I'll continue trying as I get more time. Due to excessive heat, I currently have to charge the 3v battery early in the morning only... The longest charge for the 3v battery so far has been 50 minutes so the battery is slower to heat than it used to be which gives me hope that this battery can be fully reclaimed eventually. If I can't fix it by Monday, I'll have to let it sit for a couple of weeks as I'll be busy elsewhere.

Blinking RED indicates that the battery is properly connected to the charger, but the AC power is not... but that's a crock because my AC source is just fine. I called customer service at r-charge.com, and they said a possible problem might be the 24DC output of the power supply. The center post on the output connector of the power supply is positive and the ring is negative. He said that the company has had a few returns of the power supply (not the charger), but all of the chargers and their power supplies are checked before shipment. I've checked the output and it is fine, i.e. 24v.

* The 3v battery was manufactured about October of 1998 so it's ten years old.

Has anyone tried making their own battery pack out of D Cell NiMH batteries?
I think (20) of them should be an improvement over the standard 24 volt SLA battery included in the
Schwinn Izip. You could also go to 24 or 30 of them for even more range and power.